Looking at Dan Andriano's catalog, one might assume that making new music is old hat for the veteran vocalist, songwriter, bassist and primary member of the beloved Chicago punk outfit Alkaline Trio.

Decades into his prolific career, though, Andriano is just as in love with the process as he was in those early days of sweaty clubs and cramped vans.

On Andriano's new Epitaph Records album, Dear Darkness, that unceasing passion is evident on this solo, self-produced project, which follows his 2015 release (as Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room) Party Adjacent, finds Andriano venturing into deeply personal lyrical territory while also pushing the limits of just what his unclassifiable sound can be.